Mumbai: The government plans to sell 5 percent of its stake in power producer NTPC Ltd, through a follow-on public offering in January, an Indian Financial daily reported on Thursday.
"The proposal is likely to come up for approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at its meeting on Thursday," the report quoted an unidentified government official, privy to the development.
At current market price, the issue will fetch the government 85 billion rupees (USD 1.8 billion), the report said.
The NTPC stock closed up 0.2 percent at 209 rupees on Wednesday. The government holds 89.5 percent stake in the company, which has a market cap of USD 36.9 billion.
NTPC had approached the market with an Initial Public Offering in 2004.
"The details of the issue would be finalised by November and the follow-on offer may hit the market in the second half of January 2010," the report said, quoting the official.
The government plans to sell stakes in at least five state-run firms by the end of the fiscal year in March 2010, with first of the stake sales being follow-on offerings in utilities Rural Electrification Corp or NTPC, a government official had said last week.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, October 08, 2009, 11:25